If money is a concern -- depending on the company Jet FO's usually make more than 1900 Captain.

As far as which type company to go with-- If you are in your early twenties, several years at one of the smaller companies maybe fine. Late twenties or beyond one of the better jet regionals would probably be best. The larger regionals are becoming career jobs for many now. Like it or not. I think the worst case scenario would end up being at a place like Lakes etc. for 5, 10, 15 plus years.

Not everyone is going to wind up flying at one of the Legacy carriers. You can look at the furlough numbers and the current/proposed outsourcing of mainline flying to the regional level to see that the demand for pilots will not be that strong. When and if places like UA, AA, & Delta ever start hiring again it will probably be more important to have strong internal recommendations than 1000 versus 2000 PIC turbine. Look at all of the better places that are hiring now, Fed Ex, UPS, Alaska, Jet Blue, SouthWest, 1000 PIC doesn't really mean anything.